News

We were delighted to be involved in the Cogges Manor Farm Wedding Open Day on Sunday – our vintage and rustic props looked completely at home at this fabulous barn venue in the heart of Witney, West Oxfordshire.

It was great to meet lots of lovely couples and their families who were looking for ideas and inspiration for their big day – not hard to find among the wonderful local suppliers that were also involved. For a full list of suppliers head on over to Hanami Dream Wedding, the go-to inspirational blog for Cotswold weddings.

It’s been a busy year for weddings here at Mabel & Rose – one of my favourite items that we hire out is this gorgeous wooden bottle crate which looks absolutely stunning filled with vintage bottles and beautiful blooms.

For more information about hiring vintage props for your special event please email claire@mabelandrose.com or call us on 01993 878861.

Give your event a vintage twist

Vintage prop hire is something I’ve wanted to be able to offer customers for a while now but until moving to our new premises at the lovely Foxtail Barn in Leafield it just wasn’t very practical. I’ve lent out odd bits and pieces to friends and family over the years and always enjoyed seeing how a few little vintage twists can transform even the simplest venue into something stunning. Styling with vintage props adds character and can really help to make your event feel that bit more intimate and personal.

Achieve the look
at a fraction of the cost

Sourcing everything that you need for a vintage wedding or event can be a time consuming, expensive and slightly daunting task though, especially if you’re working to a tight budget and you’ve got lots of other things to organise as well. Hiring vintage items means that you can achieve the look you want at a fraction of the cost and you also don’t have to worry about what you’re going to do with all of the items after the event.

Our range

We have a wide range of larger vintage items available for hire including vintage apple crates, zinc flower buckets, tubs and tin baths, stepladders, suitcases, milk churns, barrels, an old tradesman’s bicycle & wheelbarrows. We also have a gorgeous selection of vintage enamel jugs, Ball Mason jars, old milk bottles, victorian terracotta pots and original French stoneware which are ideal for flowers and table centres.

We’re working on a gallery of items that we have available which will be up on the website shortly – in the meantime please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like more information.

It might be cold outside but spring is definitely in the air in the Mabel & Rose workshop as our spring bulbs come into bloom. My favourite are these gorgeous pink hyacinths planted in a pretty vintage French tureen, a treasure found on one of our French trips last year.

I was really excited to receive my new stock of Seedball tins just in time for the Christmas rush – a revolutionary way to create wildflower gardens and meadows, these gorgeous little tins make the perfect stocking filler or secret santa gift.

Using seedballs couldn’t be easier – simply scatter them where you want them to grow and then sit back and let nature do the rest. Because they don’t have to be planted, they’re ideal for anyone who isn’t keen on propagating from seed.

How does a seedball work?

Each seedball contains a mini ecosystem: wildflower seeds are mixed with clay, peat-free compost and a tiny bit of chilli powder, and rolled into a small ball. They measure approximately 1cm in diameter, making them dead easy to scatter.

The dried clay acts as a protective casing from common seed predators (such as ants, mice and birds). When sufficient rain permeates the clay, the seeds inside begin to germinate – helped along by the nutrients and minerals contained within the balls. The chilli powder continues to deter predators while the seedball slowely degrades and the seeds sprout.

History of the seedball

Different forms of seedballs have been used throughout history – from ancient Chinese civilisations to Native American tribes. Recently, seedballs were re-invented and advanced by Masanobu Fukuoka, the Japanese natural farming innovator. Fukuoka showed that seedballs could produce high crop yields without the need for plowing, weeding, or the application of pesticides and fertiliser.

Although seedballs are fairly new to the UK, they’re commonly used in ecological restoration projects across many other parts of the world, such as the Rainmaker Project in Kenya. They’ve also been used creatively for re-greening urban areas and guerrilla gardening.

On Fathers Day this year we went on a family trip to the beautiful and inspiring gardens at Kiftsgate Court.

Situated next door to the National Trust gardens at Hidecote, Kiftsgate has some really creative planting on a dizzyingly steep embankment, as well as some lovely rose borders and terraces around the main house. It’s also usually a lot quieter than more well known neighbour!

There’s also a little woodland stroll through a bluebell wood – we were a little late for the bluebells but the foxgloves were starting to grow through ready for a great summer display.

We particularly enjoyed the huge variety of Astrantias, one of our favourite flowers at the moment, and the giant Wisteria covering the back of the house gave off a delicious jasmine scent to the upper terraces.

Nettles are one of the most successful wild plants in the country and also one of the most recognised – as children we quickly learn to to avoid them and with good reason as most of us will remember the burning itch of being stung. The stinging structure of the humble nettle is similar to that of the hypodermic needle so no wonder it hurts!

Until now, I must admit that I’ve regarded the nettle as an annoying weed and something I should root out from my garden. But this week is ‘National be Nice to Nettles Week’ and as a keen wildlife gardener I was interested to read just how important the nettle patch is to a huge variety of species.

Because stinging nettles are avoided by most grazing animals it makes them the ideal habitat for over 40 species of insects who can move around them without activating the sting. In particular the nettle is home buy antibiotics online to many of our native moths and butterflies including the Red Admiral, Peacock and Tortoiseshell. In the spring they also provide an important food source for ladybirds and in late summer birds feed on the seeds.

On Friday 26th April at 10.30am beekeepers and members of the public will march in Parliament Square to urge the government to save our bees and support the EU ban on bee killing pesticides.

The march is ahead of the EU vote on Monday, when the UK’s position will be important in determining the outcome and could have far-reaching consequences for the health of Europe’s wildlife and ultimately the world food chain.

The march of the beekeepers is backed by eight organisations http://healthsavy.com – Avaaz, Buglife, Environmental Justice Foundation, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Pesticide Action Network UK, RSPB, Soil Association and 38 Degrees. Let’s hope that the weight of public, expert and political opinion will persuade the Secretary of State for Envrionment and Rural Affairs, Rt Hon Owen Patterson to do the right thing and support the ban.

We’re really excited about our new range of rusted iron plant supports and pot holders. Working together with Mick Merchant, a local traditional blacksmith, we’ve designed some lovely vintage-look iron garden accessories that are now available to buy in our online shop.

Made from sturdy, long-lasting 6mm round mild steel, we’ve weathered these plant supports and pot stands outside for a few weeks, but the great thing is they’ll only look better the more weathern-worn they become. All items in the range will also be available in a brushed steel finish with a coat of lacquer to protect them against the elements.

The rusted iron supports will provide support for your plants and shrubs throughout the growing season but will also add some elegent structure to your borders during the winter months.

We will be selling the rusted iron pot stands with a special offer on some vintage terracotta pots – filled up with winter pansies, violas or cyclamens, these pot stands are another way to bring some colour and interest to your garden or patio during the winter.

Mick Merchant comes from a family of blacksmiths that have been working a forge in West Oxfordshire for over three generations and his skill and experience have been invaluable in helping us create this range.

Working in partnership with Mick it’s great to be able to help a local blacksmith sustain their business during what is a difficult time for traditional craftsmen.